Philadelphia Eagles (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. Chicago Bears (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS)
Week 2 NFL
Date/Time: Monday Night Football, September 19, 2016 at 8:30PM EST
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
TV: ESPN
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: PHI +3/CHI -3
Over/Under Total: 42.5
The Philadelphia Eagles come to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. The Eagles had a successful opening week with a new coach and rookie quarterback, as they defeated the Browns at home, 29-10. Chicago wasn't as fortunate after taking a lead into the 4th quarter on the road against the Houston Texans, losing 23-14. In their home-opener this week, they look to even things up at 1-1.
Chicago's Jay Cutler was hassled throughout the game against Houston in their opening week loss. He was sacked 5 times and hurried and hit for most of the game. He threw a touchdown and interception apiece on 216 yards passing. While it didn't manifest in a tough road spot for the Bears in week one, Cutler should have a good receiving crew if it rounds into shape as expected. They have Alshon Jeffery, a good number-one receiver. He was over 100 yards on Sunday. Eddie Royal is back after injuries derailed his 2015 season. He caught 4 balls and a touchdown in week one and if he can stay healthy, he is a terrific ball-catcher and a clutch one too. First-rounder Kevin White was out all last season and made his presence known in week one. Zach Miller is still a productive tight end and had 3 catches.
We'll see how the run game works out for the Bears. They are without Matt Forte this season and the options are not all that tantalizing. Jeremy Langford was decent with 57 yards and a TD run, but it's not a part of the offense that excites. That puts the onus on the pass-game. The line is going to have to do a better job of stopping the pass-rush and Cutler is going to be depended upon very heavily. He will need to rise to the occasion in a big way this season if the Bears want to be in the mix in any kind of substantive way. It was discouraging to see the Bears start well against the Texans and proceed to go scoreless in the second half.
With the offense stringing them out at times, the Chicago defense wasn't terrible against Houston in week one. They started well, at least, with Tracy Porter picking off a pass in the first Houston possession. But they were not really resilient on third downs, giving up 12-for-20 conversions attempts. Still, giving up 345 yards of offense isn't terrible and the 23 points wasn't bad, either. The middle, in particular, looked very good, with new additions Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathan making a ton of plays and giving Osweiler all kinds of problems.
Philadelphia won in new head coach Doug Pederson's debut. Unexpected starter Carson Wentz was solid in his debut and definitely looked like the QB of the future for this team, as Sam Bradford was dealt shortly before the season. Wentz was 22-for-37 in his first NFL game for 278 yards and a pair of TD tosses. His TD pass to Jordan Matthews was nice, but he really showed he could hit a spot when he connected with Philly receiver Nelson Agholor in the third quarter for his second TD throw on the afternoon. With 139 yards on the ground on 34 carries, the offense showed nice balance. Ryan Mathews ran for 77 yards and a touchdown, while Kenjon Barner had some nice runs, as well. Darren Sproles is still a weapon and made some nice plays in the pass and on returns. Brent Celek and Zach Ertz (doubtful) are a decent TE combo, while late acquisition Dorian Green-Beckham could make an impact at some point.
Philly's defense was good in week one, but that might have something to do with the fact that they were playing Cleveland. Against a Bears team at home and eager to hit the win column, they should be tested more severely on Monday. Still, the signs on Sunday were positive. The line was able to apply pressure, with Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and Connor Barwin all registering sacks. The pressure helped the rest of the defense, as Cleveland was only able to find the end zone one time in the game, while only getting into the Eagles' red-zone twice on the afternoon.
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The Eagles are an interesting X-factor. We don't really know what they have with the rookie QB. But for the kid to go from a presumptive number-three role and to thrive after being jettisoned into the starting role was impressive. Then again, if you were to design a debut for a rookie QB, you'd maybe pick a home game against the Cleveland Browns. The Bears may not have lit the world on fire in week one, but this game could be a lot tougher for the former North Dakota State star. And it's a good time to remember the week one fallacy, where we take one result and run with it. Week one is the first time we have a real result upon which to base any analysis. But there are other one-game windows throughout a season that are not good indicators of a team's real level of merit.
The Bears should be expected to put forth a strong effort and we've seen Jay Cutler will this team to big performances before. Their offense and the diversity of their aerial attack should give the Eagles' far-greater difficulty than they encountered in week one. I look for the Bears to help the Eagles come down to Earth a bit this week, as Cutler and Company lead the team to a big home win.
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